Big data exposes China’s online behaviour

Yao Yao and Jin Dan

Thirty-five billion words are exchanged by more than 700 million internet users in China each day, according to a new report examining the behaviour of Chinese netizens.

A report by Sogou Input and Renmin University of China on the behaviour of Chinese internet users has revealed some fascinating data.

Here are some of the standout statistics:

The report calculated that more than 12 trillion words were typed by internet users each year, on average, between 2006 and 2016.

More than 90 per cent of the most commonly used sites and apps were related to social networking, according to the report, while the time when people were most active on electronic devices was about 10pm before going to sleep.

The report also compared internet usage among age groups.

When surfing the internet, people born after 2000 are focused on leisure, entertainment and social networking, while people born in the 1980s mainly search for information and read the news, and people born in the 1970s mostly scan the news and contact others.

Work gives way to love when it comes to the most talked about topics. Shopping was the second most important activity

“The report lets us see the fast development of internet culture in China by recording netizens’ information production capabilities and social discourses,” Sogou chief technology officer Yang Hongtao said.

The online behaviour mentioned most in people’s online messages were live streaming, handing out traditional red envelopes with cash gifts, and keeping up with a flood of images and texts, with “dear” the most commonly used term to address friends and strangers.

Work gives way to love when it comes to the most talked about topics. Shopping was the second most important activity for Chinese netizens.

Input software Sogou Input has been embraced by internet users in China, ranking first in terms of PC users.

It has more than 250 million mobile users, with only instant messaging tools WeChat and QQ more popular.

This article was originally produced and published by China Daily. View the original article atchinadaily.com.cn